


Can Gran Gran Come With?

by trinitybg



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Family Bonding, Family Secrets, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-14
Packaged: 2021-03-12 01:47:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28752396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinitybg/pseuds/trinitybg
Summary: ATLA reimagined with Gran Gran joining the Gaang..... because they need an adult. And grandmothers are awesome.
Relationships: Kanna & Katara & Sokka (Avatar)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	Can Gran Gran Come With?

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly based on my experiences with my own grandmother. Specifically a year when my cousins and I decided we’d go on a summer trip around Europe. Grandma insisted on coming with us which was surprising because I’ve only ever known her to travel back and forth from America to the Philippines to visit family. Also, how well would an 80 year old fare following two teenagers and a 20 year old around Europe? 
> 
> Turns out, she had travelled around a lot when she was younger. At every new country and city we visited she had a new story to tell us. She was also great at talking to strangers, finding out where to go, and where the best foods were. It was an amazing trip.

_This feels very familiar._

An 80 year old woman is currently being held by a young Fire Nation soldier ( _Actually a prince, but she doesn’t know that_ ). And instead of reacting in any way, she reminisces of a time - 60 years ago - when she was in this same position. 

She had been living at the Southern Water Tribe for about a year when gray soot started to float among the snow. At first, people left their huts, curious about what was happening. 

And then…. fire. 

It was terrible. She had known, from traveling around the world, that horrible atrocities were happening due to the war - but she was lucky to have never witnessed anything first hand, to have only seen villages in the process of rebuilding and not the direct aftermath of destruction.

But now she will never forget the clashing colors of orange, red, blue, and brown - the sounds of her people screaming and the smell of burnt flesh. 

In the first raids, she stood back and watched the children while the others fought. There were so many talented benders back then, surely they would be able to protect the tribe. But the amount of soldiers the Fire Nation had were seemingly endless. And one by one their benders were captured or killed. Until one waterbender was left.

Then the Fire Nation came again, and Kanna couldn’t bear to watch her friend taken. In a desperate attempt to do _something_ , she ran into that first soldier with an ornate knife. She dodged two blasts of fire and managed to cut into his arm. It was a small cut, but some part of her was satisfied at the sight of his blood.

The soldier she managed to cut knocked the knife from her hand and twisted her arm around her back. He said some basic bad-guy things ( _probably threats, racist slurs, and some misogynistic and creepy shit_ ) . She didn’t pay much attention to that. At the time,she was too busy looking at Hama.

Hama’s fair skin was paler than usual that day. Dark circles lined her eyes, and her prized blue parka that Kanna helped embroider had scuffs and scorch marks on it. Her shoulders slumped as she took painful breaths. 

In front of her now stands a young baby-faced airbender, practically at the same place Hama stood all those years ago. What was it she said back then?

Oh right. Hama spoke with a hoarse voice, “ _STOP!........ Let her go……We’ll stop fighting…... If I go with you,-_ ”

“- will you promise to leave everyone alone?” Aang finishes - just in time for Kanna to snap back to reality. 

The soldier lets her go and the young boy walks slowly up the gangplank into the ship. He looks back at Katara, and so does Kanna. Katara’s parted lips are covered with trembling hands, her eyebrows furrow, and her eyes seem so much bigger than usual, gazing at her captured friend with tears threatening to fall. _Was my expression the same back then?_

“No, Aang ( _Hama)_ don’t **do** this!” Katara cries out - but it’s too late. The Avatar enters the ship, and it starts to leave.

Katara turns around and runs into the hut in tears. Everyone else stands still. After a beat, Kanna speaks.

“Sokka, go look after your sister. Everyone, we need to start rebuilding. And we need more firewood for the fire.”

As everyone starts slowly moving about, Kanna looks over at the other elder of the tribe - a short and round woman five years younger than Kanna named Fukka. Her braided hair is gray striped with some stray brown, the opposite of what it was ten years ago. And yet, with that hair and the roundness of her face she manages to look much younger than she actually is. As the second oldest in the tribe, never in the past 75 years has she had to act as a spiritual leader and elder. She mainly focused on her own small family and let the rest of the tribe’s problems fall on the shoulders of Kanna and her son. 

That can go on no longer. 

“Fukka”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

A while later, Sokka and Katara are slinking away from the village. They - not slyly at all - head towards a spare boat with their bags. Knowing Sokka, those bags are mostly filled with jerky and weapons. Katara is probably practical enough to remember to bring essential supplies, but neither of them have thought to get their sleeping bags… or a first aid kit. 

Kanna carries those now, and uses a small sled to tow a few other things they may need. While the two kids discuss their plans, Kanna speaks up.

“What do you two think you are doing?”

Twin expressions of shock turn around to look at her and Kanna can’t help but smile as the children stumble on what to say.

“You’ll need these. We have a long journey ahead of us.” Kanna places the bags into Sokka’s arms and starts to move items from the sled to the boat. She frowns at the disorderly way the kids threw everything in. They would likely tip over the whole boat piling things in like that. With a sigh, she starts placing everything in an orderly fashion as she waits for her grandchildren to react.

“We?” Sokka deadpans at the same time as Katara cries, “Gran Gran, no!”

“Gran Gran yes." Sokka groans at Kanna's reply, "I’m not letting you two go out into the world by yourself - not when neither of you have ever left the village before.” _And not with how neither of you know what the Northern Tribe is really like._

“Neither have you!” Sokka rebukes, only to be answered with a smile.

“Did I never tell you? I’m originally from the Northern Water Tribe.” Kanna hands Katara the first aid kit and a bag to put it into, and the kids start speaking over each other in increasingly loud voices.

“What?! How?! When?!” // “Gran Gran you KNOW you’ve never told us that!” // “Were you _ever_ going to tell us?! // “It’s like I don’t even know who you ARE anymore?!” // “.....Why did you even leave the North Pole?”

Kanna raises her hand and the kids immediately shut their mouths. “We won’t have time for stories. Let’s go save Aang.”

Sokka and Katara straighten up and look at each other uneasily. Sokka looks at the boat and back at Gran Gran. 

“There’s no way we’re going to catch up to a warship on this.” 

\-----------------------------------------------------------

Aang does not have a plan. Which is okay! It’s fine….. because he almost never has a plan and everything works out anyway. Still, as he races around the ship, he wishes he had at least _something_ resembling a plan to get out of here and back to Appa. And Katara. It’d be pretty great to see her again. 

He dodges a few more fireballs and picks a random door to open. 

“EEEEEKKKKK!!!”

“OH.... SORRY!” 

Welp, that’s not the one. Aang will giggle about that bathing man’s loud squeak of surprise later. Right now, it’s time to try another door.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------

Gran Gran has just finished tying everything up safely on Appa’s saddle and Katara is trying to sweet talk the bison into moving. Sokka, as per usual, is the one who figures out what to do.

“That kid said something before. What was it? Yee-haw? Hap Hup? Uh........yip yip?”

Suddenly the beast growls and whips its tail on the water. Gran Gran immediately grabs the hand of the child closest to her (Sokka) in surprise. Sokka doesn’t pay her much attention, however, and instead he leans over the side of the saddle and looks down.

“He’s flying! He’s flying! Look everyone he’s-” Sokka looks back to see his sister and grandmother sharing an irritatingly smug smile, “I mean, big deal. He’s flying….” The bison ride shakes a bit as they ascend higher into the clouds, and the grip on him turns into a vise. “OW Gran Gran! My hand!”

“Oh, I’m sorry dear.” Gran Gran’s smile turns sheepish and she lets go of him. “I was just shocked from all the shaking. Now sit back down properly, I don’t want you falling off.”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Katara, dear. Are you okay sitting on the bison’s head?”

“Yes, Gran Gran!”

Katara actually has no idea what she’s doing on Appa’s head, and she’s a little worried about not having a saddle or any kind of belt-like device to keep her from falling off…….but there is no way she’s saying that to Gran Gran and _Sokka_.

\-----------------

Tui and La they actually did it. They saved the Avatar from the Fire Nation ship, discussed Aang’s true identity as the avatar, and now they’re on their way north.

The Northern Water Tribe.

That place that Kanna left over sixty years ago with only her hair beads, her engagement necklace, some money, and the clothes on her back. How much could that place have changed? Would she even recognize anything…..anyone? Will she see _him_ again? Would it be better or worse if she didn’t? 

“All right, but before I learn waterbending, we have some serious business to attend to,” Aang’s excited voice breaks Kanna from her thoughts. She watches as he grabs the map and starts pointing at various locations. “Here, here and here.”

“What’s there?” Katara asks.

“Well, here we’ll ride the hopping llamas. Then waaaay over here, we’ll surf on the backs of giant koi fish. Then back over here, we’ll ride the hog monkeys -” Aang looks up and Kanna and add sheepishly, “I mean. I just think it would be nice to show them more of the world before having to _study_.”

Kanna laughs, “I agree, Aang. If we’re not in any hurry, I can point out a few other places to see. For example, there’s a woman that makes fantastic tea with juniper berries in a village by this river.” 

Katara and Sokka go from looking at Kanna to full on gaping. 

“And I may be too old to participate, but you kids should experience hiking down to the caves over here. There are beautiful crystals lining the walls there. And -”

“Tui and La, who ARE you Gran Gran?!” Sokka interrupts loudly. Her two precious grandchildren start talking over each other again - asking questions about where she’s been and when…. And why and how. 

Kanna just moves to a more comfortable sitting position and smiles. 

**Author's Note:**

> So! You've just read my first fanfiction in like...... 10 years. This was a real bitch to write, but now that I've finished one chapter I hope the rest come more easily - especially since I've outlined the rest of the work. This is also my first time using this site so if you have any suggestions on better formatting or tags to use or even thoughts on the story I’d be happy to hear it.
> 
> As said before, this version of Kanna is basically my grandmother - but she's a little bit my mom as well (my mom always crushes my hand during turbulence on the airplane). She will have lead an active lifestyle helping the people of the tribe and while she won’t be a badass old fighting expert like the members of the white lotus, she won’t be a completely helpless old lady. 
> 
> I followed the episode pretty closely here, even going so far as to use the transcript to make sure the kids say the same things. But I don't plan on doing that for future chapters. 
> 
> Some major changes though that should be noted. In this universe, Kanna left the Northern Water Tribe at age 16, meandered around the Earth Kingdom/some Fire nation colonies for two years, and then she arrived at the Southern Water Tribe at age 18. The Fire Nation raids happen when she is 19/20.


End file.
